Chapter 145: A Tour of the Restricted Section
It wasn't until they returned to the dormitory that Draco figured out how Ethan had done it.
Seeing that knowing smile, Draco was certain this was his roommate's doing. He had no proof, though. Or rather, he simply didn't want to dwell on it.
"Wandless and non-verbal casting? Isn't that way too advanced?" Draco shook his head, refusing to believe Ethan was capable of it.
Had Ethan done it? Of course. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that Draco fell down the stairs at exactly the moment Ethan needed his blood?
Ethan had cast a wandless, non-verbal Tripping Jinx at him from behind. The spell was very weak, much weaker than one cast with a wand, but it was enough to make someone stumble.
Of course, Ethan had no intention of killing him, so he had chosen a spot only three steps from the landing. He was also ready to cast a protective spell at a moment's notice to prevent any real harm.
Ethan slipped away from dinner early and came back late. He made it back to the dormitory before the other three. He took out the green wooden box, retrieved Draco's blood, and dripped it onto the snake.
The snake emblem on the wooden box glowed faintly. Ethan's eyes lit up in response.
To his disappointment, the wooden box opened only slightly before snapping shut.
*I still need to get Nancy's blood.* Though disappointed, he had at least managed to catch a glimpse of a green package and some parchment inside through the gap.
He had spent days agonizing over how to get the blood needed to open the box, discarding each idea the moment it occurred to him.
The turning point came on Wednesday.
He headed to the Great Hall for breakfast as usual that morning, only to find a surprising announcement posted on the bulletin board.
This week's Dueling Club meeting has been rescheduled to Saturday at 8 p.m. The location remains the Great Hall.
Ethan hadn't expected the Dueling Club to survive, considering the spectacle and chaos it had caused last time.
"Perfect opportunity. Getting injured during a duel is perfectly normal, isn't it? This plan is approved." Delighted, he immediately began plotting how to inflict a minor injury on Nancy without raising suspicion.
That night, after Astronomy class, Ethan mulled over his plan to sneak into the Restricted Section.
This time, his primary goal was to locate the specific book detailing how to create a Horcrux.
Several of his roommates had already fallen asleep, and the Common Room was empty. Ethan climbed out of bed, grabbed his small bag and wand, changed, and slipped out quietly.
It was his first time sneaking into the library at night.
"Alohomora!" Ethan whispered, unlocking the door.
He suspected the school did this on purpose. Applying an Anti-Alohomora Charm would be a simple task for any professor, yet after all these years, no professor had ever cast such a spell on the library's locks.
Ethan closed the door behind him and lit his wand. He walked past row after row of bookshelves until he reached the Restricted Section.
Relying on his memory of Madam Pince's previous movements, he first located the book with a bloodstained cover and no title on the spine.
"It looks like no one else has borrowed it. I'll find someone to make a cover for my replica when I go home for Christmas. Swapping it out for a little while shouldn't be a problem." Ethan nodded with satisfaction.
Ethan vaguely remembered that the book detailing the Horcrux creation method was related to Dark Magic.
He began searching the nearest bookshelf, scanning the names on the spines one by one.
As a precaution, he wore dragon-hide gloves to protect his hands from any defensive spells cast on the books.
"Magick Moste Evile, is this the one?" Ethan looked at the black text on the silver spine, cast a Muffliato, then cautiously reached out with his gloved hand to take it down.
Ethan was right to be careful. The moment he held the book, two scarlet lips appeared on the cover, gaping wide to reveal a toothless black hole that let out a scream.
"Silencio!" He quickly slipped off one glove, pointed his wand, and cast the spell.
Fortunately, the book did not have any other strange spells on it. The Silencing Charm worked perfectly.
The lips on the cover were still frozen in an O shape, but no sound came out.
Ethan pulled the glove back on and stood perfectly still, listening intently for any movement in the library, terrified that the scream had broken through his spell and carried outside.
Luckily, he had not been discovered. After listening for a while longer, Ethan relaxed.
He lit the tip of his wand again and opened the book, examining the catalog.
"Petrification? That spell is useful enough, but it doesn't explain how to make a Horcrux." He finished skimming the catalog quickly. While he noticed a few Dark Arts spells that piqued his interest, this book wasn't what he needed.
He closed the book and waited a minute until the pair of lips faded away.
Ethan returned the book to the shelf and moved on to the next one.
The Restricted Section held a staggering number of texts related to the Dark Arts. There were titles like *Compendium of 15th Century Dark Arts*, *Interesting Dark Arts*, and *Ancient Dark Arts*, among others. Almost all of these books had some sort of strange manifestation.
Some featured a skull that materialized on the cover, with worms and snakes slithering out of its eye sockets. Others flashed a ghostly face and let out a sudden scream. One even transformed its cover into a beast's head, snapping at Ethan's outstretched hand.
Ethan had encountered so many strange tomes in such a short time that when he finally picked up *Secrets of the Darkest Art*, he felt a sense of unease.
This faded black leather tome showed no sign of magic when he pulled it from the shelf.
It sat there innocently, like any ordinary book, waiting for him to open it.
Having seen what the other books were capable of, he knew better than to let his guard down.
Working through the thick fabric of his gloves, Ethan carefully opened the cover. He waited a full minute before daring to turn the page.
He carefully turned the pages until he spotted the word Horcrux in the catalog.
"Found it." A surge of relief washed over him.
He flipped to the page listed in the catalog. After a quick scan of the details, he knew this was the book he needed.
He tried casting the Gemino Curse. To his surprise, it worked perfectly, duplicating the entire book without a hitch.
Ethan could hardly believe it. "They didn't even put any protective measures in place."
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to take the duplicate and quickly transcribe the sections that interested him.
He attempted to cast the same spell on *Magick Moste Evile* to copy the section on petrification magic, but the book refused to be duplicated.
*Forget it. I'd better go now. Copying *Secrets of the Darkest Art* alone would take ages. It'd be better to come back later. I can look into blood magic then, which will serve as a good cover.*
He returned the book to the shelf, arranging it exactly as he remembered. Ethan extinguished his wand light and walked out of the library.
With a click, he locked the door again and flew back to the dungeons.
Starting Thursday, aside from homework that required library research, Ethan spent every day copying books either in the dormitory or in the Room of Requirement.
He had finished copying the section on Horcruxes. Although the spells and materials involved were complex, the steps were actually quite simple: just four of them.
Step one: Killing.
Commit murder to split one's soul.
Step two: Creating a soul fragment.
Using extremely complex spells, extract a piece of the soul split by the murder and shape it into a separate fragment.
Step three: Attachment.
Attach the extracted soul fragment to a pre-selected and prepared object.
The nature of the object doesn't matter, because a successfully created Horcrux possesses strong regenerative abilities. It can repair damage from most spells, except when destroyed by specific means.
Step four: Protection.
Although a Horcrux can self-repair, special substances such as Basilisk venom, Phoenix tears, and Fiendfyre will cause permanent damage to it.
Therefore, to prevent their Horcruxes from being destroyed, wizards must hide them in locations with powerful magical protections or in places that are hard to find.
Take Voldemort's Horcruxes, for example: Slytherin's locket was hidden in a location with powerful magical protections, while Ravenclaw's diadem was concealed somewhere difficult to find.
But the diary was a special case. Voldemort had given it to Lucius, whom he believed to be loyal, but he hadn't expected his subordinate to handle it so carelessly, unaware of its true nature. This was likely one of the main reasons for Voldemort's dissatisfaction with him after his resurrection.
The method Ethan wanted, a way to determine who a Horcrux belonged to, wasn't written there. He did, however, figure out how a Horcrux could achieve a nearly solid state, like Tom in the movie.
He had to admit that although Voldemort had chosen an ordinary diary for his first Horcrux, it had been a smart move.
For a soul fragment within a Horcrux to grow, it needs someone emotionally connected to it.
A diary, being a Horcrux that could interact with people, naturally had advantages over those that couldn't communicate.
This was also why, when Ginny poured out her feelings, secrets, and fears to the diary, Tom's soul fragment grew steadily until it became stronger than she was, allowing it to take control of her.
After understanding the principle, Ethan had an idea. *That new, unknown second-generation one should also gradually take control, right? Does this mean if I keep my ability active, I can see the moment that soul fragment possesses someone?*
But he soon gave up on this approach. After practicing for a day, he hadn't seen any soul fragments. Instead, whenever he saw ghosts, a bright light shot straight into his eyes, which was rather uncomfortable.
Ethan felt helpless. *Without the Basilisk, a Horcrux can't make waves. Let it be.*
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 309
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 216
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 311
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 143
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic